The new and distinct pear tree described and claimed herein originated from a controlled cross between ‘Harrow Sweet’ and ‘NY10353’ made in 1988 in Harrow, Ontario. Pedigree of ‘HW624’ is shown in FIG. 1.
‘HW624’ was selected as a hybrid seedling (‘H8806-1’) in 1995 and propagated by budding on pear seedling rootstocks. Trees were planted in an evaluation orchard in 1999 in Jordan Station, Ontario. This selection was advanced and tested in regional trials beginning in 2000.
‘HW624’ is harvested two weeks after ‘Bartlett’, whereas ‘Harrow Sweet’ is harvested three and a half weeks after ‘Bartlett’ and ‘NY10353’ is harvested one week before ‘Bartlett’. ‘HW624’ has medium to large size fruit, whereas ‘Harrow Sweet’ also has medium to large size fruit and ‘NY10353’ has small, plump spindle shaped fruit. ‘HW624’ fruit is yellow with a Red Blush at maturity, whereas ‘Harrow Sweet’ fruit is yellow at maturity. ‘HW624’ has a high level of resistance to fire blight and psylla, whereas ‘Harrow Sweet’ has good resistance to fire blight and ‘NY10353’ has good resistance to psylla and fire blight.